No it is not blurred on the copy they sent, must be my scanning sorry. The second sheet showing Financial and Related Conditions is a separate sheet not part of the Credit Card Application Form. What I am interested to know is that if a document which shows my signature and the date as having been crossed out by hand is legal?? I couldn't show this part for obvious reasons but my signature has definately been crossed out by someone.

Here is the agreement they sent. Will appreciate some advice please.

I requested my CCA from Wescot 6 moths ago and they had admitted that it could not be found, therefore they had removed the account from their database but reserved the right to reinstate it if the agreement was found. In the meatime I have been trying to get the default removed from my CR files on the basis that they had no enforceable agreement and I had never received a default notice, (I hadn't) Today, I received the CCA. I will try and post it up over the weekend, but the agreement appears dubious to me and I am hoping for some advice. It is a photocopy headed 'Pre Approved Credit Card Application for Abbey National Account holders' It contains the usual personal details, but my signature and the date in the signature box has been deliberately crossed out in pen???. This is a definate alteration. There are no terms and conditions on the form only a second page which has 'Important information'. Also Wescot have sent a supposed 'Default Notice' which has obviously just been typed, (it is not a copy) and dated 2004. Wescot says this now means they have reinstated the account which they will keep on hold for 14 days to await my response. When I recived it this morning after six months my heart sank, but the more I look at it the more I am convinced Wescot are having a laugh with this one.

This morning with a heavy heart I thought I better check my Abbey bank account again to see how many more charges they had added on. I had an agreed overdraft of £700 and they had added charges to over £1200. I was frantic with worry as it was increasing every month. I had claimed charges back under the hardship rule, did everything that everyone here told me to do but was still terrified. I had a call from them 10 days ago, all they did was go through everything in my claim for hardship, (very nice they were too I must say) and they said they would let me know in about 2 weeks. I really wasn't convinced that they would accept my claim, but when I checked my account this morning they have refunded charges up to 65%!!!!!!! I almost had a heart attack! My account is back within the agreed overdraft limit, so do I still need to claim again for the £35%+ ?? A great weight has been lifted from me today, thanks to you guys! I cannot thank everyone enough for the practical and technical support I have been given by everyone on CAG. Honestly I could never have won this without you all. So bless you all, this is absolute proof that CAG works! hugs and kisses

Thank you everyone for great advice! I have sent off 42 Man's letter, as emma said, it's absolutely brilliant, thankyou! I had a feeling Mint were going to be difficult with this one and have been worried about how I wa going to deal with it. I'll see what their reply to 42 man's letter is!

As I feared today I have received a letter from MINT as follows; I am disappointed to note that your have failed to comply with our agreement. Unless I receive an immediate payment to your account and regular payments thereafter as arranged, I will have no alternative but to place your account in the hands of an external debt collecting agent without prior warning. If a money advisor is assisting you, then you should bring this letter to their attention. If you have made the required payment within the last five days please ignore this letter. I stopped paying them three months ago because the agreement they sent was illegible and they insisted they would continue to pursue the debt. They have held a default on my credit reference file for the full 6 years even though I was in a DMP and making payments on that without default. It has just dropped off my credit report. Please can someone advise me? Can they hand this to a DCA when the agreement they sent was illegible?

I have my claim in for my charges under the hardship rules and am still waiting for them to reply. The are continuing to apply charges every month to my account which has charges now of over a £1000 against an agreed overdraft of £700. My claim is mainly made up of their charges and I am frantic that this is increasing every month. I came home on Friday to a message on my answer machine " hello this is so and so from Abbey, I have a few matters I would like to discuss with you. Please call me on this number urgently" This freaked me out as my partner heard this and it has caused me no end of trouble this weekend. Are they allowed to leave messages like this???

So is what you are saying that, because they have written to say that as far as they are concerned what they sent is a CCA and they will pursue the debt I can report them to the OFT for this? Sorry for my ignorance but what should I say?

No they don't share information. Basically they couldn't care less about CRA records here. I have lived over there, they will just expect you to start from scratch and establish your reputation, which is almost as bad as having a bad rating except you can build it over a period of time. I would recommend you get a gas (petrol) card as soon as possible as they report to the CRA's and it helps a lot

I got another letter from the collections department today. Now they have said that I am in breach of the Banking Code by not repaying this overdraft...(which they are increasing every month) They also said they have cancelled all my DD's and my bankcard. Which makes me feel thankful that I moved my banking to another bank a couple of months ago otherwise I would be penniless. This letter is from the same person I wrote to including a copy of my claim under the Hardship rules and asking them to be patient while this is under investigation. They are building up a head of steam and I don't know what will happen now. Can someone please advise me?

Thanks 42man, I did send the letter you recommended but they just replied that as far as they are concerned it is a CCA and they will pursue the debt. Now it's all quiet and the default has dropped of my CRF, but they are still sending monthly statements. I have a horrible feeling that it's far from over and am just trying to guess what their next move will be. Do Mint send their accounts to DCA's and what are they likely to do next??

Update, I replied to the demand for repayment of the full amount of the overdraft and included a copy of my claim under the hardship rules. This was in reply to a letter from the recoveries department. I have not had a reply. In the meantime I had a reply to my claim under the Hardship Rules and had a reply which said they may require more information but are investigating my claim. They went on to threaten me that if I tried to take them to court they would immediately apply for a stay. Then they told me to go to a debt counsellor!!!! Considering they are slamming charges on me ever month and I am not even using the account anymore I think that is a bit rich! They have now applied more charges since I started this thread and I now have an overdraft of £1200 against an agreed overdraft limit of £700. All of this is made up of their charges. They are going up dramatically every month and I am just about freaking out because I can't stop this and I can't repay it! What also really worries me is that they have put a 2 months late marker on my credit reference file, I know it is just a matter of time before they default me. How can I stop this? I just feel that I am on a runaway train and that sooner or later it will crash....

Lowell defaulted me for a CapOne debt. They have not got a CCA and since I requested the CCA have marked a 'satisfied' Jan 2003 on my Credit Report. I wrote to them requesting removal of the default as they have no CCA and I have never received a Default Notice. They have replied refusing to remove the default and unbelievably said they had enclosed a copy of the Default Notice...it was a brand new typed letter obviously not a true copy! What should aI do now?

I got an illegible copy of my CCA from Mint in June and I replied asking for a legible copy. They replied saying that this was the CCA and they would pursue the debt. I stopped paying them 4 months ago. Every month they send a credit card statement requesting payment. Now the default they recorded on my CRA has dropped off as it has been 6 years. I cannot believe this is the end of it. What will they do now? Will they hand it to a DCA?

I have several defaults most of which are almost 6 years old (two were registered in 2003) and I am currently challenging the CRA's to have them removed as none of the Defaults registered have credit agreements available. I have always had an account with Next and this account has always been in good standing with no arrears. I had a £1500 credit limit with only £100 used. Now I have had a letter from Next saying that due to their checking my Credit Files they have decided to reduce my credit rating and will not accept any more orders at this time. This is a direct result of the defaults held against me. I want to write to Next and challenge this decision, what is the best approach?

I sent off my Hardship letter etc last week and today got another letter from Abbey demanding immediate repayment of the overdraft, the total amount of which is made up of their charges. The letter goes on to say 'do not ignore this letter, if we do not receive payment of the full amount within 10 days et etc.' I don't think this is a reply to my hardship claim, the letters must have crossed in the post, but I am worried sick,I cannot pay them £1000, they owe me more than that so what do I do now please?

Bumping I am really hoping someone can pick up on this?

I have just spent a happy evening reading House of Commons Debates in connection with Data Sharing (I know someone will tell me I need to get a life) and this debate grabbed my attention. The link is below, sorry for any old timers heaving a sigh if you have seen this before, but I haven't and I'd like an opinion please. The section highlighted in red is what I would like to query. It seems that there was no provision before the introduction of the Data Protection Act 1998 for consumers to consent to their data being used. i.e. in credit applications, contracts etc there was no consent box. I know for a fact that several of my accounts were opened long before 1998 and therefore is it correct to say that there was no provision for my consent to be given and CRA's are operating this data sharing without any consent in place at all??? Maybe I am just clutching at straws again but this is one aspect I hadn't thought of. Anyone please? Sorry about the bold I couldn't get it off for some reason!) http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2005-07-14a.980.2 House of Commons debates Thursday, 14 July 2005 Orders of the Day — Consumer Credit Bill New Clause 1 — Data Sharing Let me deal with the historic problem, which the new clause tackles. The Data Protection Act 1998 requires lenders to notify individuals that their data will be shared and the purpose for which they will be used. That legislation led in due course to the industry including standard clauses in the application process to ensure the consent and knowledge on the part of the consumer for any new agreement after data protection legislation came into force. There is no problem for new agreements; consumers have given their consent. However, there is no provision for any account opened or agreement made before the introduction of the standard clauses in contracts. Nothing provides for consumers to agree to their data being shared.

Thanks, I will get started on that today. What do I do about the charges which have been applied since I submitted my claim? Do I need to produce a new spreadsheet? I am sure that they will not respond in the 14 days, then I need to go to court? I don't know how to do that.....will have to do some more reading on here today!

I have only sent them my prelim letter (the template I got on here) plus the spreadsheet of the charges I am reclaiming. The only reply has been the standard impersonal letter. No, I haven't filed at court yet I have been waiting to see if they would respond, they did by slamming more charges on my account. I am scared witless because I don't know what to do now?

I am at my wits end with Abbey. I reclaimed my bank charges and they responded with the standard pre printed bilge and I have heard nothing more from them I had an agreed overdraft of £700 which they increased to £770 with more charges. I got so upset that I have now changed my banking to another bank. I wasn't too concerned about the £770 overdraft as I knew it was less than what they owed me. Now I find they have slammed more charges on up to over a £1000. I am past myself with worry, I cannot pay this as I am only on Incapacity Benefit. I told them this when I submitted my claim and they just ignored it. They are so vindictive I believe they will do almost anything. I know they are going to keep on adding charges and I am terrified as I don't know what they will do next. What if this test case fails? What should I do now? I hope someone can advise me, I can feel the sleepless nights coming on again...............

Sorry to bore you Bookworm, I haven't seen this before and I suspect a few others haven't also. I thought a shared smile might cheer some poor soul up.

I think I could take a leaf from her book! Letter of the Year: An elderly lady actually wrote this letter to her bank. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in The Times and this newspaper thanks him most sincerely. Dear Sir, I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three 'nanoseconds' must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident] has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, re-recorded, faceless entity, which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status, which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.. Please note that a Solicitor must countersign all copies of his or her medical history, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number, which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows: 1-- To make an appointment to see me. 2-- To query a missing payment. 3-- To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there. 4-- To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping. 5-- To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature. 6-- To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home. 7-- To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact.) 8-- To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 8 9-- To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call. Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.. Your Humble Client Addendum from The Editor: IMPORTANT to REMEMBER that this letter was written by a lady who is a 98 year old woman; DOESN'T SHE MAKE YOU PROUD!!!

Thanks for the replies. I just cannot understand how they can get away with this, according to his letter; 'The unenforceablity of an agreement has little or no bearing on a companies right to process information' 'We do not actually require your consent to process information about you'. 'It is also considered to be in the legitimate interests of other creditors for this information to be shared so they are aware of your conduct of any previous agreements you held.' Even if that said agreement doesn't exist?? We have clarified our position in connection with your ongoing dispute and I am sorry if this has not resulted in these entries being removed from your report. As we can only amend or delete information at the request of the companies concerned I would suggest that if you wish to pursue this matter that you take this up with them. This is immoral, these CRA companies are destroying people's lives with arrogance and total disregard for the rights of the individual concerned. Is there anyone who has written to their MP and had a response on this subject?

Anyone please?